It’s time to make your opinion known as the 9th annual SportsBusiness Journal/SportsBusiness Daily Reader Survey is underway. The survey features more than 100 questions across leagues, teams, facilities, sponsorship, media, and more.

*Should college athletes be paid?
*Will Mark Emmert still be NCAA president a year from now?
*Which of the following is the most effective conference commissioner?
*Which companies/brands have done the best job aligning with college sports through corporate sponsorship?
*Do you donate to the athletic program of your alma mater?
*What should facilities and teams focus on to improve the fan experience?
*If you could go to a storied U.S. sports venues that you haven't been to before, what would it be?

Those are some of the questions you'll find in this year’s survey. Cast your votes and then see highlights of the results the week of Dec. 2. We want to hear from you.

The 20-month job search of the "middle-age Hausers," two longtime Palace Sports & Entertainment execs, was profiled by Tom Walsh of the DETROIT FREE PRESS. DAN HAUSER,now 76ers Senior VP/Corporate Sponsorships,and his wife MARILYN HAUSER, now Prudential Center VP, "logged nearly 60 combined years of service" with the Pistons and PS&E. But in January '12 they were "dismissed, along with several other PS&E managers, as the Pistons’ new owner TOM GORES installed a new executive team." Dan, who most recently served as PS&E Exec VP/Corporate Sponsorships, said that his severance payment was "fair and pointedly refused to utter a negative word about his former employer." Marilyn, who most recently served as PS&E Exec VP/Booking & Marketing, said, "I still was not ready for it. We loved being at the Palace." Walsh notes Dan "had a brain aneurysm" in the month of his dismissal from PS&E, and after an "initial surgery in January another operation was needed in February." It would be "six months before he could drive a car," but doctors by mid-summer "gave Dan the OK to go back to work, or at least to start looking for work." Dan then attended and spoke at a conference thisMay, at which soon-to-be 76ers CEO SCOTT O'NEIL "was one of the organizers." When O'Neil was named to his current position in July, he "started talking" to Dan, who was hired by the Sixers last month. Then after 76ers Majority Owner JOSH HARRIS purchased the Devils and the Prudential Center this August, O'Neil hired Marilyn to her current position. The Hausers are now "renting a condo in downtown Philadelphia, Marilyn's childhood hometown, and Marilyn has a one-hour commute by train to the Prudential Center." Dan said, "I feel like I’m walking back in time 25 years, with the incredible growth plans they have with the two teams and the venues" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 10/27).

Fenway Sports Group co-Chair JOHN HENRY in a special to the BOSTON GLOBE wrote under the header, "Why I Bought The Globe." Henry invested in the newspaper because he believes "deeply in the future of this great community, and the Globe should play a vital role in determining that future." It is "one of the best and most important news organizations in the world." While "analyzing the plight of major American newspapers back in 2009, during the throes of the recession, when the Globe's parent company, the New York Times Company considered shutting down the paper," Henry discovered "a maddening irony: The Boston Globe, through the paper and its website, had more readers than at any time in its history." But "journalism’s business model had become fundamentally flawed." Henry "grew to believe that New England is a better place with a healthy, vibrant Globe." Henry wrote his investment "isn't about profit at all," but rather "about sustainability." Henry: "My every intention is to push the kind of boldness and investment that will make the Globe a laboratory for major newspapers across the country" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/27).

The Minneapolis Star Tribune's LAVELLE NEAL III "has become the first black reporter to head the Baseball Writers' Association of America," succeeding the S.F. Chronicle's SUSAN SLUSSER. The Houston Chronicle's JOSE DE JESUS ORTIZ was "elected vice president, putting him in line to become president next October (AP, 10/26).

Selig will retire from his position at the conclusion of the '14 MLB season

In Boston, Gary Washburn wrote under the header, "With Game Flourishing, Bud Selig Toast Of The Town." MLB Commissioner BUD SELIG is "pleased with the progress of the sport and, because of it, he has been replaced as the most unpopular commissioner in major sports" by NHL Commissioner GARY BETTMAN, "or perhaps" NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL. Selig can "leave at the end of the 2014 season knowing he pushed the sport in a more positive direction, escaping the horrid attention of the steroid era, with most teams playing in a ballpark that is 15 years old or younger, and with television ratings rising." Selig has a "right to be proud of his recent accomplishments, but there are plenty of issues with the game: The four-hour postseason contests that tip midnight; his fascination with interleague play; and the limits of instant replay." They are "all matters that need to be addressed in the next 12 months" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/27).

BEWARE THE BEARDS: USA TODAY's Brian Mansfield writes the beards of Red Sox players "already were a national phenomenon," but now they "have their own theme song." Nashville-based country group TIM MONTANA AND HIS SHREDNECKS in the past week wrote "This Beard Came To Party." Montana "co-wrote the song with ZZ TOP's BILLY GIBBONS." The Red Sox "introduced Montana's song" during their series-clinching ALCS Game 6 against the Tigers last week. The team also "played it during the first two World Series games and plans to keep doing so" when the series returns to Boston on Wednesday (USATODAY.com, 10/26).

COUNTERFEIT POLICE: MLB sent a team to St. Louis to "seek out and seize counterfeit T-shirts, ball caps and other merchandise that proliferates during the postseason." MLB Properties Senior VP & General Counsel ETHAN ORLINSKY also "traveled to Boston" for Games 1 and 2. The World Series was last played in St. Louis in '11, and "4,058 counterfeit items were seized there during postseason play, out of 5,347 items seized throughout the entire postseason nationwide" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 10/26).

NAMES: Cardinals RF CARLOS BELTRAN was this year's recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award, which "recognizes the player whose contributions on and off the field best represent the game" (AP, 10/26). Beltran was presented with the award in a news conference before Game 3, and he was "given a standing ovation by the crowd during the pregame ceremony" (MLB.com, 10/26)....Actor ERIC STONESTREET was at Game 4 to present a $4M check from MasterCard "to the Stand Up to Cancer effort." Stonestreet said that he is a "big fan of baseball and he thinks his alter ego would be, too" (BOSTON HERALD, 10/28)....Bravo TV host ANDY COHEN was in attendance at Game 3 on Saturday (STLTODAY.com, 10/27).

Pouncey was a teammate of Aaron Hernandez while at the Univ. of Florida

Massachusetts State Police served Dolphins C MIKE POUNCEY "with a grand jury subpoena less than an hour after" yesterday's Dolphins-Patriots game. A source said that the subpoena is "related to the investigation" into former NFLer AARON HERNANDEZ. Two police officers in dark suits after the game "approached Pouncey in the hallway between the Dolphins locker room and the team bus and handed him a piece of white paper." A Patriots official said that team Owner ROBERT KRAFT was "not made aware" that police would be issuing the subpoena. There were "five uniformed officers" and "two in suits loitering about 30 yards from the Dolphins locker room and speaking with NFL Security officials" after the game (SI.com, 10/27).

TWO THUMBS UP:GOLF WORLD MONDAY's Jaime Diaz writes the upcoming movie "THE SQUEEZE," directed by former ABC golf producer TERRY JASTROW could bea contender for "the first great golf movie." Actor JEREMY SUMPTER plays the role of Augie Baccas, a 20-year-old "resident of a small rural town who wins his city championship by 15 shots." Two hustlers "convince the golfer to postpone his touring pro ambitions and embark on a cross-country series of high-stakes matches, culminating in Las Vegas involving a notorious gambler who forces Baccas into a moral dilemma." The producers are comparing the plot to "THE STING," but "it sounds more like 'THE COLOR OF MONEY'" (GOLF WORLD MONDAY, 10/28 issue).

NAMES: TNT’s SHAQUILLE O’NEAL yesterday appeared in an ad in support of New Jersey Gov. CHRIS CHRISTIE, saying, "I don’t endorse many politicians, but Chris Christie is different. ... He’s a good man. Excuse me, he’s a great man" (HUFFINGTONPOST.com, 10/27)....Attorney ANDREW FINE said that his client, Grizzlies F MIKE MILLER, is “strongly considering filing a lawsuit” against the Heat because Miller believes that the franchise “bears some responsibility for him being swindled by a con man.” Miller lost $1.7M in a scam “allegedly orchestrated by HAIDER ZAFAR.” Miller’s yet-to-be-filed complaint states that a Heat employee “introduced Miller to Zafar” when he was still on the team (MIAMI HERALD, 10/25)....Pro Football HOFer and industry trade group The Wireless Association President & CEO STEVE LARGENT will not seek an extension of his current contract with the company (The Wireless Association)....Patriots Owner Robert Kraft, QB TOM BRADY and TE ROB GRONKOWSKI on Saturday met with six young fans and their families as part of the Make-A-Wish program (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/28)....The Celtics on Thursday raised more than $800,000 for Boston-area children’s charities at their annual Shamrock Gala, which was presented by New England Baptist Hospital (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/26)....The WTA on Saturday donated $5,000 to the USANA True Health Foundation (WTA)....White Sox P JOHN DANKS on Thursday married country singer ASHLEY MONROE, with singer BLAKE SHELTON officiating the ceremony (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 10/25)....Mets P MATT HARVEY and his girlfriend, ANNE VYALITSYNA, recently were “spotted house-hunting together downtown” in N.Y. (N.Y. POST, 10/28)....PELÉ last week celebrated his 73th birthday at Primola in N.Y. (N.Y. POST, 10/26).
IN MEMORY: Former NASCAR team owner and film director HAL NEEDHAM died on Friday in L.A. at the age of 82 (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 10/27).